How to craft email subject lines that will shoot your email open
Transcript of How to craft email subject lines that will shoot your email open
How to craft email subject lines that will
shoot your email open rate to the Moon!
23 proven, easy-to-use tactics (with examples!)
to get your emails noticed, opened and acted upon.
Have you ever wanted to craft an email that will make a recipient drop
everything he/she was doing and hang on to your every word as if their life
was dependent on it?
I ALWAYS wanted that and, after doing some research, I found something...
I will tell you about it in a second.
First, let's see how people decide to open an email.
Do you think they tick boxes on a checklist and if every box is checked they
open it?
No!
People decide to open an email the same way they decide anything in life:
With an instantaneous emotional reaction...
Instantaneous because we all look for shortcuts (to deal with TMI syndrome
- too much information) and because we look to lessen the cognitive load
(we want to do as much as possible in the background).
So it's your job then to stop them like Wile E. Coyote running into a brick
wall the Roadrunner painted to look like the sky.
Wham!
And you can do that by using trigger words that tap into the emotional center
of your recipients.
To do that your subject line must pack a strong punch:
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emotional
relevant
timely
personal
The subject line could contain one of the items above, or better – a
combination of several items. With this, let’s examine some of the specific
techniques you could use:
1. The MIND-CONTROL Subject Line
“Mind-control” – did I get your attention?
What I am talking about is NLP – Neuro-Linguistic Programming – a rather
recently developed field that looks into techniques using language as a
persuasion.
Without getting into details, there is one technique that is applicable to email
subject lines and that is of “open loops”.
Human mind has this (weird) tendency to seek completion – e.g.: if we
started listening to a joke then we want to hear the punch line.
If you ever watched “Lost” or “24” TV shows you can, you can almost
always predict when an episode would end – finding new evidence, a new
thread in a plot, a new character introduced. This opens a loop, and you’d be
dying to see how it develops.
Now, back to email subject lines:
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The following questions…
These proven tactics…
This secret…
“The following”, “these”, “this” – open up a loop that often would prove
irresistible for your email recipients.
2. The FOLLOW UP Subject Line
This subject line presumes a previous conversation: over the phone, email or
in person. You are not emailing, you are following up on a previous
discussion:
To follow up on our conversation
As discussed…
After our meeting…
Word of caution: only use as appropriate. If you only use at as a gimmick
and don’t pay it off in the body of the email, you will turn off your recipients
forever.
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3. The FEAR FACTOR Subject Line
The fear factor subject line shows items that in all likelihood your recipients
are trying to avoid or are fearful of:
Are you making these mistakes in your firewall settings?
10 most exploited vulnerabilities in the cloud infrastructure
Are you aware of these hacker-magnet IT security flaws?
4. The NUMBERS Subject Line
People love lists. The reasons of that are probably a good subject for a book,
however on the surface, people are looking for short-cuts, a summary, a
“Readers’ Digest” version of complex things:
5 simple ways
7 hidden lessons
9 stupid email marketing mistakes
20 ways to monetize your B2B blog
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5. The STRAIGHT UP BENEFIT Subject Line
Straight-up benefit is exactly that: just show the value your email reader
would get from opening and reading your email; and following your
link/advice:
How to double your sales while cut sales cycle time in half
Learn how to grow your lead generation 5x with these easy tactics
How to triple your conversion rates
6. The CURIOSITY Subject Line
Curiosity subject line creates a “bait” – a taste of what’s to come if you only
open an email. The list of possible ways to spin this is endless:
Never ask pose questions to your sales leads
Why your email marketing sucks
What never to put in your marketing email
The shocking truth about email marketing
The long-lost “persuasion secret” of the deadliest con man who ever
lived
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7. The URGENCY Subject Line
Using urgency in the subject line is a time-honored method of creating
anxiety. Some people respond better to the threat of losing than to the
promise of gaining. Urgency subject lines are generally straightforward:
Save 50 Percent Today Only.
Early-Bird Registration Ends Friday.
Last Chance to Send Your $10
8. The QUESTION Email Subject line
The linguistic structure of a question requires the reader to pause and
respond. In other words, questions force us to think and answer. Question
subject lines generally pull well:
Would Self-Hypnosis Help You Achieve Your Goals?
Will You Have Enough Money to Retire at 65?
Tired of Making Your Boss Rich?
Can This Marriage Be Saved?
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Rhetorical questions are intended to provoke thought rather than prompt a
specific answer.
Are You An Over-Educated Under-Achiever?
Is the Life of a Child Worth $15 to You?
Does Uncle Sam Owe You “Forgotten Money”?
9. The NEWS Email Subject Line
If your email offers something new, something your customer can’t get
elsewhere, consider the news subject line:
Federal Home Loan Program Announced
New iPhone “Visual Voice Mail”
10 IPOs that Could Double in 12 Months
Gold Price Poised to Soar in 2009
10. The TESTIMONIAL Email Subject Line
Testimonials help convince buyers because they provide validation and
social proof. While testimonials usually appear in the body copy of a sales
letter, they can also be effective in the subject line.
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Why Arnold Palmer uses Quaker State Motor Oil
More Alaskans drive on Michelins...
Tiger Woods can afford any car; he drives a Buick.
Note: While “all caps” normally increases email open rates versus “standard
upper and lower,” our testing reveals that the standard capitalization used
above often wins when subject lines include names and other proper nouns.
11. The AUDIENCE SELECTING Email Subject Line
This subject line is very direct in that it specifically identifies its intended
audience:
Attention Bostonians Who Need to Lose Weight
For Investors Who Hate Paying Commissions
Are You a Sales Pro Who Wants to Close More Deals?
For DBA running Oracle
Variations include:
What Every Investor Must Know about IBM
To the Road Warrior Who Hates to Travel
Confidential to Corvette Owners
12. HYBRID and PERSONALIZED Email Subject Lines
All the email subject line archetypes can be used in combinations, and many
can be personalized:
Janice Morgan, your children can earn top grades.
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A stock portfolio for Justin Carver
Bernie Madoff, happy with your stockbroker?
13. The SEASONAL Email Subject Line
The Seasonal email subject line references a holiday or time of year. Often
your control mailing can be adapted to use a seasonal reference, thereby
increasing response:
Your New Year’s Resolutions for Losing Weight
Columbus Day Sale Starts Today.
Unique Gifts for Dads and Grads
Huge Savings on Holiday Overstock
14. The ISSUE-BASED Email Subject Line
The Issue-based email subject line simply announces the editorial content
contained in the body copy. It tells what’s inside, and subliminally sells
what’s inside:
Your Wednesday Issue of Daily is Enclosed.
Today’s Early to Rise: Barney Frank Speaks Out.
Bulls vs. Bears in This Special Issue of TSI Daily
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15. The COMMAND Email Subject Line
The Command email subject line directly tells the reader what to do. It
always begins with a verb that demands action:
Register for CloudForce conference today
Signup for the IT Security webinar now
Subscribe to Sunset Magazine
Put a Tiger in Your Tank.
16. The SHOCKING Email Subject Line
This tactic should be mostly reserved for the B2C environment, however
with taste and consideration it might be used in a B2B context as well:
Lazy email marketers have skinny kids
R-obam-ney – certain things just don’t mix
17. The DOGMA CHALLENGE Email Subject Line
Pick an opinion or a view most people hold as true and then reverse in the
subject line. This surly will grab attention of your readers:
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- Why social media doesn’t work
- Why cloud computing has no silver lining
- Stop wasting your time on inbound marketing
18. The AUTHORITY Email Subject Lines
The authority subject line simply means quoting someone who’d be easily
recognizable and then tying this to the subject of your email:
- Email marketing trick of Mark Twain
- Einstein genius sales secret
19. The CLICHÉ REMIX Email Subject Line
Take a cliché and play with your keywords to find some that may work:
- Revenge is a dish better served sold
- Don’t count the chickens before they hack
20. The REASON WHY Email Subject Line
The Reason Why email subject line is a hybrid of the List email subject line
archetype.
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5 Reasons why CMOs will have larger IT budget than CIOs
Reasons Why Microsoft Outsells Apple
The Reason Why Betamax Failed
12 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Bonds
21. The CONTRAST Email Subject Line
The contrast subject line is all about picking two opposites and combining
them in a subject line. Start with a list of keywords and concepts, and then
find the opposites for them… let your creative juices flow:
IT security tips from the world scariest hacker
How to charge higher prices in a recession
22. The MOVIE Email Subject Line
This one is easy: pick one a movie title or a quote from a popular movie.
Then twist or even leave “as is” and you’ve got your subject line:
There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path
(Matrix)
In a sales and marketing galaxy far away
Beam me up, Scotty
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23. The TV Character Subject Line
If you are anything like me, you probably watch a lot of TV shows. Dexter,
Lost, 24 – you may have your own poison. Regardless, if you bring it up in
an email subject line there is a 99% chance your audience will understand
what you are talking about:
- George Costanza’s guide to inbound marketing
- How to close a sale like Jack Bauer
- James Bond’s secret weapons of mass marketing
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